


Boutonniere

by Toonetta



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Persona References, itatsumu are just big gay dorks who're madly in love with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27290329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toonetta/pseuds/Toonetta
Summary: Tsumugi's got a special lootbox just for Itaru; he already knows what's inside, but that doesn't make it any less exciting.AKA, Itaru and Tsumugi get ready for Mankai's first ever company prom together.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Boutonniere

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this picture here: https://imgur.com/a/j4Cr7Ly
> 
> Think of this as just a small snippet of what happens that night!

“So,” Itaru said after a long beat of silence, glancing back at Tsumugi through the mirror as he fixed his tie. “What’s that behind your back?” 

Itaru already knew what it was; he didn’t need to have his Intelligence maxed out to know that it was the boutonnière Tsumugi had picked out for him. It made the most sense, considering he’d just pinned Tsumugi’s on a moment prior— not to mention that putting his on was the last thing they needed to do before they could head out. He could have easily just said what it was to get this over with, especially since Tsumugi likely knew it wouldn’t be much of a surprise for him, but instead Itaru decided to humor him a little, not wanting to ruin the excitement for him with how eager he’d been to pick out out their boutonnières ever since the Mankai prom was announced. 

“It’s a surprise,” Tsumugi said with a faint, teasing smile, slipping another hand behind his back. 

“A surprise, huh? NG,” Itaru said, turning to face him again, one hand slipping into his jacket pocket. “I’ve already completed your side quest, haven’t I? I believe I’ve earned my reward.” 

“Right, right, of course,” Tsumugi said, his smile widening as he stepped closer to him. “I do suppose you deserve one after being faced with the immensely difficult task of pinning the boutonnière on my vest.” 

“Hey, now, it’s a lot harder to do than it looks,” Itaru said, half-heartedly defending himself because that really had been much harder than it needed to be. He took his hand out of his pocket after double-checking that his phone was still in there. “But I'm glad you agree.”

With that, Tsumugi revealed a tiny black box with a black ribbon on it from behind his back. “Ta-da.” 

“Ah, a lootbox,” was Itaru’s immediate response. “How wonderful.” 

As Itaru reached out to grab it, Tsumugi drew the box closer to himself while softly shaking his head, making Itaru’s hand freeze in place. 

“You pinned mine on, so let me do it for you,” Tsumugi said. There was a brief pause before he added, “Now close your eyes.” 

“Close my eyes?” Itaru said, arching a brow. It seemed like he really did want to keep it a surprise for as long as possible, which meant this would inevitably become a real cheesefest. 

“Mhm. It’s supposed to be a surprise, remember?”

“Right, of course,” he said, closing his eyes and forcibly relaxing his shoulders a bit, waiting patiently, listening to what he guessed were the sounds of Tsumugi unwrapping the box, pulling out the boutonnière, and then setting the box down on the bathroom sink next to them.

“I’m going to touch you now, Itaru-kun,” Tsumugi warned before gently resting his palm on Itaru’s vest to keep the fabric still while he pinned the boutonnière on. The feeling made Itaru’s breath hitch, and despite the layers between them, he could still feel the warmth of Tsumugi’s hand on his chest. He fought back the urge to hold his hand by slipping his own back into his jacket pocket. 

If someone were to walk in right now, they’d surely burst into laughter at the sight of two grown men standing there, all dressed up for a company prom, acting like they were teenagers again as Tsumugi made him close his eyes while he pinned the boutonnière on. And as the Mankai Company’s resident manchild, Itaru didn’t necessarily consider it a bad thing, because even if it was the tiniest bit embarrassing, he found himself enjoying the moment far more than most people his age probably would. This was his first time experiencing something like this with someone he actually cared about, after all, so he wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. 

“Alright, I’m done,” Tsumugi said a moment later, taking his hand off his chest and stepping backwards, leaving Itaru feeling the slightest bit disappointed by the sudden lack of warmth. “You can open your eyes now.” 

Opening his eyes, Itaru turned around to look at the boutonnière in the mirror, but not before smiling warmly at Tsumugi, who beamed at him. On his vest sat a familiar looking pink flower whose tiny petals were tinged white at the end. Accompanied by a black bow that matched the black ribbon on the box it came in, the boutonnière was truly the final piece needed to complete his outfit, fitting the aesthetic perfectly. 

“As expected of Tsumugi, you really found the perfect flower to go with my suit,” Itaru said, gazing down at it. “It’s beautiful.” 

“I’m glad you think so, I wanted to get you only the best boutonnière around,” Tsumugi said with a hum. He quickly glanced away after that, blushing as he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head. “You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to find it, though; Banri-kun and I were up half the night one day browsing the internet just to find the perfect one, and then when we finally found it, I had to drive an hour both ways just to go and pick it up since I was afraid I’d miss getting it.”

As Tsumugi let out one of his small, awkward chuckles, Itaru gawked at him, a little taken aback by this (though he was more surprised by Banri’s involvement in this than anything else, really). “You… went through all of that just for me?”

“Of course! I’d do anything for you, Itaru-kun— or the perfect flower, for that matter.” 

“...I see,” Itaru muttered, turning to look in the mirror again as he brought a hand up to lightly touch the flower. “Well, thank you, then, I’ll repay you at some point for all the trouble you went through.” 

“It was no trouble at all, Itaru-kun, really,” Tsumugi assured him. 

As he stared at the boutonnière, it suddenly hit Itaru why the flower on it looked so familiar. 

“Ah, this is a g— a ger…” Itaru started, stifling a frown as he tried to think of what the flower was called, scrolling through the inventory that was his brain trying to find it. Tsumugi had told him once, maybe twice before what it was, so he definitely knew the name… a geranium? No, that didn’t sound right. He had to hurry, otherwise the QTE would end before he figured out the right answer. 

“A gerbera,” Tsumugi said after a few seconds of silence, and the ‘FAIL’ sound effect rang in Itaru’s ears. Damn, better luck next time. 

“Right, right, I remember now. And if I recall, you once said they reminded you of me, right?” Itaru said, hoping to gain back some of the support points lost. His Social Link with Tsumugi was already at Rank 10, so there was nothing to worry about there, but the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint him since this kind of thing meant so much to him. 

“That’s correct,” Tsumugi said with a smile and nod. “It makes me happy that you remember that after all this time. Do recall what they mean?”

Now _that_ he definitely did remember, because it was something Itaru would never forget for as long as he lived. 

“Oh, so we’ve entered the quiz portion of the game now, have we?” Itaru asked with a teasing smile of his own. “I’m afraid I don’t quite remember, mind explaining it to me again?” 

That was clearly a lie, and based on the look Tsumugi gave him, he knew that it was, too; it was his turn to play along this time. 

“Always,” Tsumugi said, lightly tugging on Itaru’s shoulder sleeve to get him to face him. When he did, Tsumugi began to adjust the boutonnière. “Since it’s mostly pink, it means high-esteem, admiration, and adoration…” 

At that last part, Tsumugi looked at him through his eyelashes, making Itaru blush. 

“But at the same time, it also has traces of white in it, here around the tips, which means purity and innocence, in a childlike sort of way. So we can say it’s a mix of both for the sake of keeping it simple.” 

“Ah, no wonder it makes you think of me, then.” 

With a light chuckle, Tsumugi moved one hand up to Itaru’s face, brushing some hair out of his eyes before gently caressing his cheek with the back of his fingers, a tender look in his eye. “There’re a lot of things that remind me of you…” 

“Oh, is that so?” Itaru murmured, resting his hands on Tsumugi’s hips, bringing him closer. “You’ll have to tell me about that sometime…” 

“Gladly…” Tsumugi murmured back, wasting no time in leaning up to kiss him after that, hand moving from his cheek to the back of his neck as their lips brushed together. 

Itaru let out a soft hum as he kissed him back, the grip on his waist tightening. Only when it was on the verge of becoming more heated did Tsumugi pull back, leaving Itaru chasing after his lips wanting more. 

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me just now,” he said, all flustered as he brought his hand down to rest on Itaru’s chest. 

“It’s poggers, DW,” Itaru said, effectively ruining whatever was left of the mood and any chance he had of getting another kiss. With a smirk, he let go of Tsumugi and shoved one hand into his coat pocket. “If we didn’t have a dance to attend, I’d say we could just keep doing that, but we should probably head out now.”

“Oh, right! I almost forgot,” he said, stepping back. It was a good thing they had to go, because Itaru definitely wasn’t about to get anything else after saying that. “Yes, we really should get going now.” 

“Well, then, shall we?” Itaru said, holding up his arm for Tsumugi to take. When he did, a valiant grin settled on Itaru’s lips, and his tone became more serious. “Now hurry, and don thy mask, for we have a palace to infiltrate! We must make haste and steal the corrupt king’s Golden Chalice before he uses it to unleash the forces of darkness upon our fair world and wreak havoc across the land!” 

“Oho,” Tsumugi replied, instantly getting into character, voice a much deeper, more sultry tone than usual, making Itaru’s heart skip a beat. “Have you forgotten that we’re the greatest thieves to ever have lived? Has your confidence in our power dwindled? Worry not, my dear partner, for we’ll swipe the Golden Chalice right from under the king’s nose, disguised as nothing more than mere guests of his wretched ball!” 

“By the Gods, you’re right! I should have never doubted our ability, for the two of us together are unstoppable!” 

“Fear not, for no matter what befalls on us, they’ll never be able to reveal our true forms! Now come, for we have a ball to attend!” 

As they left the bathroom, arm in arm, Itaru and Tsumugi kept the act up all the way to the courtyard, and chose to stay in character for the rest of the night, even long after the prom had ended, because if they were going to act like teenagers, they might as well just fully embrace it and go all out. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so very much to my lovely friend @/flaminhotcheetoes for betaing this for me! <3
> 
> I love ItaTsumu with my whole heart and definitely plan on writing more about them in the near future.


End file.
